Atlantic Investment Management Inc. Buys Shares of 223,000 Kirby Corporation $KEX

Atlantic Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 223,000 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,570,000. Kirby makes up approximately 13.8% of Atlantic Investment Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Kirby by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,667,853 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $472,982,000 after acquiring an additional 134,261 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Kirby by 92.0% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,612,119 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $287,803,000 after acquiring an additional 1,251,700 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Kirby by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,484,508 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $273,745,000 after acquiring an additional 93,676 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in Kirby by 72.5% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,282,865 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $258,900,000 after acquiring an additional 959,209 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Kirby by 109.4% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,256,667 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $248,640,000 after buying an additional 1,178,963 shares during the period. 96.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Kirby

In related news, VP William Matthew Woodruff sold 678 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.37, for a total transaction of $99,916.86. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 9 shares in the company, valued at $1,326.33. This trade represents a 98.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Ronald A. Dragg sold 1,726 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.01, for a total value of $250,287.26. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 8,673 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,257,671.73. This represents a 16.60% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 17,691 shares of company stock worth $2,579,036. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Kirby Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE KEX opened at $140.43 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $7.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.60, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.81. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $144.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $130.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Kirby Corporation has a 12-month low of $79.51 and a 12-month high of $157.69.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The shipping company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $844.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $832.57 million. Kirby had a return on equity of 10.62% and a net margin of 10.51%.Kirby’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.33 earnings per share. Kirby has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.650-7.280 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Kirby Corporation will post 6.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on KEX. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on Kirby from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 13th. Zacks Research upgraded Kirby from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $158.00 price objective on shares of Kirby in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Kirby from $147.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $146.20.

About Kirby

Kirby Corporation is a leading domestic maritime transporter of bulk liquid products in the United States. Through its Marine Transportation segment, the company operates one of North America’s largest fleets of inland tank barges and towing vessels. Kirby’s fleet moves petrochemicals, black oil, refined petroleum products and agricultural chemicals along coastal and inland waterways, providing critical logistical support to energy, chemical and agricultural producers.

In addition to its marine operations, Kirby’s Distribution and Services segment offers diesel engine and power generation services, along with aftermarket parts sales.